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You will have the opportunity to ask the candidates why they are standing, what they hope to achieve in the role, what their stance is on crime and any other questions you would like them to answer in order to allow you to make an informed decision in next Thursday’s election.

The commissioner will replace the county’s Police Authority and will be responsible for setting policing priorities, deciding how the policing budget is spent, holding the chief constable to account and consulting with the public.

They will receive a salary of £65,000 a year and will answer to a 12-strong police and crime panel.

The commissioner will not be expected to run the police, they will act as the voice of the people and hold the police to account.

The elections will use the supplementary vote system whereby voters will be asked to select their first and second preferences. If no candidate gains over 50 per cent of the first preference votes, the two top candidates from the first preference votes go forward to a second round when the second preference votes are counted.

The hour-long webchat will go live at 5.30pm on today across all CN Group websites, including here at www.nwemail.co.uk.